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] supporters continue to impart far-right beliefs to their children; here they are dressed in uniforms of notorious ]. Picture taken in ], ]. ]]
{{synthesis|date=September 2013}}
{{Neo-Fascism}}
'''Far-right politics in Croatia''' ({{langx|hr|Krajnje desna politika}}) refers to any manifestation of ] in the ]. Individuals and groups in Croatia that employ far-right politics are most often associated with the historical ] movement, hence they have connections to ] and ]. That ] political movement was an extremist organization at the time supported by the ] and the ]. The association with the Ustaše has been called "Neo-Ustashism" by ].<ref>{{cite web | publisher = IWPR | author = Drago Hedl | author-link = Drago Hedl | url = http://iwpr.net/report-news/croatias-willingness-tolerate-fascist-legacy-worries-many | title = Croatia's Willingness To Tolerate Fascist Legacy Worries Many | work = BCR Issue 73 | date = 2005-11-10 | access-date = 2010-11-30 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101116083050/http://iwpr.net/report-news/croatias-willingness-tolerate-fascist-legacy-worries-many | archive-date = 2010-11-16 }}</ref>


'''Neo-] and neo-] in ]''' exists among the people who during ] participated in the creation of the ] (NDH), are or have been members of the ], or otherwise sympathise with these Nazi/fascist causes. These mainly arose from ] and are considered the ] in the political spectrum. The common perception is that the far right includes people who were either involved with the ] (NDH) during World War II; sympathizers; and people who utilise their ]ism. The far right mainly arose from a combination of the residual hatred from the ] and ].


Pro-Ustaša symbols and actions have been restricted by law in Croatia since 2003. The most common venue for expressing these beliefs is ].
Such sentiment and actions have been restricted by law since 2003, and the display of the symbols of the NDH or Ustaše symbols is illegal. Yet there are few punitive measures employed against the trespassers, as is most commonly noted with ]. Due to the fact it became part of SFR Yugoslavia in WWII, Croatia does not regard ] as a major priority, unlike most other European states involved in that war.


==Denazification== ==Background==
{{main|Ustaše|The Independent State of Croatia}}
The ] was a Croatian right-wing ultranationalist movement founded in 1929 by ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schäuble |first1=Michaela |title=Narrating Victimhood: Gender, Religion and the Making of Place in Post-War Croatia |date=2014 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-78238-261-4 |page=323 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJ78AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA323}}</ref> After the establishment of the ] by ], Pavelić fled to Italy where he set up his organization's headquarters.<ref name="Berend">{{cite book |last1=Berend |first1=Iván Tibor |title=Decades of Crisis: Central and Eastern Europe Before World War II |date=1998 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-52020-617-5 |page=329 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IwSSDDppR_gC&pg=PA329}}</ref> Prior to ] the Ustaše functioned as a paramilitary and terrorist organization, as it sought the separation of Croatia from Yugoslavia into an independent state through violent means.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gerwarth |first1=Robert |last2=Horne |first2=John |title=War in Peace: Paramilitary Violence in Europe After the Great War |date=2013 |publisher=University of Oxford Press |isbn=978-0-19968-605-6 |page=162 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lao-AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA162}}</ref> Notably, it was involved in the assassination of King Alexander in 1934 with the assistance of the ] (IMRO).<ref name="Berend" /> The Ustaše however lacked broad support due to its radical and violent nature.<ref>{{cite book |last1=McCormick |first1=Robert B. |title=Croatia Under Ante Pavelic: America, the Ustase and Croatian Genocide in World War II |date=2014 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-0-85772-535-6 |page=12 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rhGMDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA12}}</ref> When ] ] in 1941, its territories were occupied by German, Italian and Hungarian forces. A German puppet-state, the ] (NDH) was established and ruled by Pavelić and the Ustaše. During the Second World War, the Ustaše conducted genocide ], Roma and Jews within their borders. The ] was a notorious death camp where extermination of these groups took place. After the war ended, many of the Ustaše fled to safety abroad in countries like Argentina and Spain. In 1957 Pavelić was wounded after an assassination attempt on him and died two years later from his injuries.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Totten |first1=Samuel |last2=Bartrop |first2=Paul Robert |last3=Jacobs |first3=Steven L. |title=Dictionary of Genocide: M-Z |date=2008 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-31334-644-6 |page=451 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_02aVgTaFDYC&pg=PA451}}</ref>


Several far-right political parties in Croatia trace their roots to ] and view the Independent State of Croatia as a legitimate foundational state.<ref name="Ramet">{{cite book |last1=Ramet |first1=Sabrina P. |title=Radical Right in Central and Eastern Europe Since 1989 |date=2010 |publisher=Penn State Press |isbn=978-0-27104-379-1 |page=173 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QZr1vsDIvlUC&pg=PA173}}</ref> Most openly declare their affiliation with the Ustaše.<ref name="Radical2015">{{cite book |title=Right Radicalism in Party and Political Systems in Present-day European States |date=2015 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-44387-938-5 |page=74 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uGcHCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA74}}</ref> Across the right-wing spectrum, various common themes emerge with varying degrees of which include the desire for a ], a negative stance towards the ], ], positive view of the NDH and negative attitudes towards ] and the ].<ref name="Mammone&Godin&Jenkins">{{cite book |last1=Mammone |first1=Andrea |last2=Godin |first2=Emmanuel |last3=Jenkins |first3=Brian |title=Mapping the Extreme Right in Contemporary Europe: From Local to Transnational |date=2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-41550-264-1 |page=144 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-fGaaj5ZJEgC&pg=PA144}}</ref>
An important factor in the existence of neo-Ustaša sentiment in Croatia was the development after the Second World War in which Croatia was officially liberated by the ] who formed the ]. As such, Croatia was not treated as a nation defeated in the war nor did the majority of its citizens feel as such; instead, they were part of Yugoslavia which won the war.


] ("Ready for the Homeland") was the WWII fascist salute used by the Ustaše and is considered to be the equivalent of the Nazi German ].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rosensaft |first1=Menachem Z. |title=Croatia's fascist movement is on the rise yet again |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/croatia-fascism-nazi-ustasa-sasenovac-antisemitism-zoran-milanovic-a9583146.html |work=The Independent |date=25 June 2020}}</ref> In some elements of Croatian society there is a narrative that claims the usage of the greeting predates the Ustaše, a claim that is rejected by the scholarly consensus. Since Croatia's independence, the salute has become "re-popularized" through public discourse by the right-wing.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pavlaković |first1=Vjeran |last2=Pauković |first2=Davor |title=Framing the Nation and Collective Identities: Political Rituals and Cultural Memory of the Twentieth-Century Traumas in Croatia |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-35138-178-9 |page=175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qQuWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT175}}</ref>
That said, the Communist authorities did pursue a strict set of policies which could be deemed as a form of ], only more similar to the Soviet style than to the American style. People who collaborated with the Ustasha were often court-martialed at the end of the war, the ] was committed, and after the war was over, there were also trials against suspected collaborators, secret service control over citizens with links to the Ustasha etc.


==Croatian far right during Yugoslavia==
The modern Croatia was formed long after WWII was over, and aside from occasional exceptions, there was no desire whatsoever by the Croatian political elite to associate the new country with the former ] or to revisit the status of Croatia as a member of the winning side of that war. While significantly more courtesy was shown to the Ustasha for their desire to make Croatia independent, they were neither rehabilitated nor explicitly banned - most people, in politics and otherwise, simply wished to leave that part of the past behind. Subsequently, no laws were ever passed that specifically targeted the issues of nazism and/or fascism.
At the end of ], the Communist authorities pursued a strict set of policies which could be deemed as a form of ], only more similar to the Soviet style than to the American style. People who collaborated with the Ustaše were often court-martialled at the end of the war, and there were extrajudicial killings of collaborationist troops in the ]. Trials against suspected collaborators continued long after the end of the war. In the 1980s, ] was extradited to Yugoslavia from the United States, and prosecuted in SR Croatia where he died in a prison hospital. The secret service exercised harsh control over both citizens with links to the Ustaše and mere Croatian nationalists. ] continuously monitored the ], and was implicated in numerous assassinations, notably that of ] in 1978.


In the aftermath of WWII, a guerrilla/terrorist anti-communist and Croatian nationalist insurgency group, the ], formed, and carried out terrorist acts against the new multi-ethnic communist state. Between 1962 and 1982, Croatian nationalist groups carried out 128 terror attacks against Yugoslav civilian and military targets; notably ] killing 27 people in 1972. All of these groups operated outside of Yugoslavia, given the Yugoslav regime's consolidation of power which made it difficult for them to operate inside the country.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tan |first1=Andrew T. H. |title=Politics of Terrorism: A Survey |date=2010 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-13683-336-6 |page=128 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qXerAgAAQBAJ&q=128}}</ref>
Nevertheless, the occasional outbursts of pro-fascist sentiment were rarely ever sanctioned by the authorities, much to the dismay of liberal media and the left-leaning public, not to mention the ] which were the most common targets. Because of such leniency, extremists seemed to become more and more vocal. In a widely reported incident, the then leader of the veterans union HVIDRA Marinko Liović appeared on a ] radio station in ] and publicly stated that ''"In my basement, the access is forbidden to dogs, cats, women, Serbs and Jews"''. Eventually, on ], ] the ] coalition government passed amendmends to the Penal Code which outlawed this kind of ] in a new section titled ''Praising fascist, Nazi and other totalitarian states and ideologies or promotion of racism and xenophobia''.


==Early independent political scene==
Croatia also has no laws against ] or ]. This can mainly be attributed to the change of political system and indeed the entire system of values as the country became independent. Revisionism was not frowned upon because priority was placed on the reevaluation of history as recorded during the Communist era, which was therefore deemed almost implicitly tainted. The re-examination of the number of victims of the ] and particularly the ] was fairly common, as well as fairly controversial. See also ] below.
In the process of the ], Croatia gained independence from the ] in the 1990s. The modern Croatia was formed long after World War II was over, and aside from occasional exceptions, there was no desire by the Croatian political elite to associate the new country with the former ], or to revisit the status of Croatia as a member of the winning side of that war.


Nevertheless, the introduction of the ] enabled public expression of far-right politics. The new mainstream politics showed significantly more courtesy to the Ustaše for their desire to make Croatia independent, but they were neither rehabilitated nor explicitly banned. Subsequently, no new laws were passed in the 1990s that specifically targeted the issues of ] or ]. The primary reason for the disregard of past fascism in Croatia has been a lack of priority and care taken by the Croatian public and the mainstream politics towards the issue, because numerous other issues plagued the country at the time. The late ], ], who had been a ] general who had fought the Ustaše, became a champion of reconciliation (Croatian ''pomirenje'' or ''pomirba''), whereby Croats of all political views should unite against the shared threat from ]. This had the effect of also bringing pro-Ustaše Croats into the fray, their philosophy and ideas no longer taboo. Tuđman publicly stated that the Ustaša state was not only criminal in nature but also an expression of the desire of Croats to regain their independence after centuries. Such a notion could be considered true in view of Croatia's long historical struggle for independence, but does not give enough consideration to the ] status of the NDH. After the war more anti-fascist-inclined people were no longer willing to set aside political differences with the more fascist-inclined.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.novilist.hr/2009/12/07/tudman-je--ocuh-drzave.aspx |newspaper=] |language=hr |title=Tuđman je očuh države |date=2009-12-05 |quote=Spomenuli ste da je taj pokušaj primjene Banovine na rane devedesete bio zastarjeli koncept. No jedan od glavnih koncepata Tuđmana bio je ono što je on nazivao pomirbom svih Hrvata. Jednom zgodom ste izjavili da time on nije pomirio mrtve, ali je zavadio žive. – Potpisao bih tu izjavu i danas. Faktično nije došlo do pomirenja između partizana i ustaša. Nije bilo ni moguće pomiriti te dvije zavađene koncepcije. Kako pomiriti ustaše koji su se vratili iz inozemstva s bivšim udbašima, u krajnjoj liniji, kakve je on mnogo uzeo u svoju službu. Takva koncepcija je bila osuđena da proizvede nove probleme. Njome je antagonizirao mnoge Hrvate. |access-date=2010-11-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100312014257/http://www.novilist.hr/2009/12/07/tudman-je--ocuh-drzave.aspx |archive-date=2010-03-12 }}</ref>
==Events and issues connected (actual or alleged) to neo-Fascism in Croatia==


At the time, Croatia was often accused of ignoring the crimes committed by the ]-era fascist Ustaša regime, and of tolerating the symbols and the activities of individuals sympathetic to that regime. This has led to criticism of Croatia, particularly among ]. This was exacerbated with war-time propaganda for the ].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://hague.bard.edu/reports/de_la_brosse_pt3.pdf | title = Political Propaganda and the Plan to Create a "State for all Serbs" - Consequences of Using the Media for Ultra-Nationalist Ends - Part 3 | author = Renaud de la Brosse | publisher = Office of the Prosecutor of the ] | date = 2003-02-04 | quote = Whether or not it was true, the video, broadcast twice the same evening, created the desired effect, that is an electric shock in Serbian public opinion which thus saw the confirmation of the intrinsically evil nature of the authorities in Zagreb... | access-date = 2010-10-28}}</ref> The antagonism between the ] and the ] grew, and had become widespread by the time the ] had started. The Croatian-Serbian animosity during the Yugoslav wars was viewed by some as a rivalry between the "Ustaša" and the "]", even if both of these World War II-era organizations did not actually exist at the time. To some extent, it is a consequence of wartime ], in the course of which such moralistic debasement is common.
Since gaining independence in 1991, Croatia has often been accused of ignoring the crimes committed by the the ] fascist ] regime & tolerating symbology or the activities of individuals sympathetic to such a regime. This has been known to provoke widespread criticism of Croatia particularly in the West.
], the paramilitary arm of the ]]]


In the absence of a specific policy or laws against it, instances of pro-Ustaše sentiment and ] were rarely sanctioned, to the dismay of the ] public, as well the ] who were the most common targets.
During the process of revolting against Communist rule in the early 1990s, numerous ] monuments (erected in honour of the ]) have been damaged or destroyed throughout the country, and these incidents were generally not sanctioned by the authorities at all. Furthermore, the devastation of WWII partisan monuments also often extended to those erected in honour of civilian victims of war, also with little or no intervention from the police.


Among the organizations formed during wartime which were most commonly associated with neo-Ustashism was the ] (''Hrvatske obrambene snage'', HOS), which emerged as the de facto paramilitary wing of the ]. Their symbols included dressing in black, at the time widely perceived to be reminiscent of ], and using the phrase '']''. These units, however, quickly fell out of favor with the Croatian authorities and were eliminated through more or less violent means before the end of the first phase of the war in Croatia. In recent years the HOS has gained popularity, their members making appearances during state war commemorations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vukobratovic |first1=Nikola |title=Croatian President's Reluctant Struggle Against Fascist Symbols |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2020/05/05/croatian-presidents-reluctant-struggle-against-fascist-symbols/ |website=Balkan Insight |date=5 May 2020}}</ref>
Also there is the name of the new Croatian currency - ], introduced in 1994, which was also the name used in the NDH (1941-1945), on the basis that it was also used in the ]. It is a matter of speculation whether the Croatian government had NDH kuna or the medieval kuna in mind when picking the name for the new currency.


The far-right part of the Croatian political scene in the 1990s was fragmented between various right-wing political parties: primarily ] (HDZ) and ] (HSP), as well as other smaller parties such as the ] (HKDU), the ] (HSP 1861) and ] (HČSP).
A square in the central part of ] which was named the "Square of the victims of fascism" (''Trg žrtava fašizma'') because during WWII over sixteen thousand people were deported via the square to concentration camps, was during the early 1990s renamed to "Square of great Croats" (''Trg hrvatskih velikana''). This decision was later reverted in December 2000 during ]'s mayorship of Zagreb.


===Defacement of monuments===
In several Croatian cities, streets were renamed after ], a prominent Ustaša ideologist, on the basis that he was otherwise a poet. These moves have since been reversed by recent governments.
From 1991 until 2010,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-05-15 |title=Who stands to benefit from a "reworking" of history? - Gong |url=https://gong.hr/en/2015/05/15/who-stands-to-benefit-from-a-reworking-of-history/ |access-date=2023-04-06 |website=gong.hr |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Dusek |first=Relja |date=2017-04-03 |title=Anti-Fascist Monuments: Croatia's 'Unwanted Heritage' |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2017/04/03/anti-fascist-monuments-croatia-s-unwanted-heritage-03-31-2017/ |access-date=2023-04-06 |website=Balkan Insight |language=en-US}}</ref> 3000<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monument |url=https://filmfreeway.com/784777 |access-date=2023-04-06 |website=FilmFreeway |language=en}}</ref> ] have been damaged or destroyed throughout the country, and these incidents were generally not censured by the authorities at all. Furthermore, the devastation of World War II partisan monuments also often extended to those erected in honor of civilian victims of war, also with little or no intervention from the police. The defacements occurred during a period when communist parties lost power in much of Eastern Europe.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Hrvatska/tabid/66/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/69416/Default.aspx | newspaper = ] | language = hr | title = Mladi Nijemci istražuju: zašto Hrvati ruše partizanske spomenike? | date = 2009-09-09 | access-date = 2010-11-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.zadarskilist.hr/clanci/19122008/vlast-ne-radi-dovoljno-na-suzbijanju-neoustastva | newspaper = ] | language = hr | title = Vlast ne radi dovoljno na suzbijanju neoustaštva | date = 2008-12-19 | access-date = 2010-11-30}}</ref>


==Political parties==
The Croatian singer ], who rose to prominence as an ] singer of the 1970s, once sported an exact replica of an Ustaša uniform during a concert.
=== Active ===


* The ] (HSP), far-right with a blend of ultra-nationalism and free market economics.<ref name="Radical2015" /><ref name="Davies&Lynch">{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Peter |last2=Lynch |first2=Derek |title=The Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far Right |date=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-13460-952-9 |page=345 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-iXGKN1AK4C&pg=PT345}}</ref> Gained 7% of votes in the ] and five seats in the ].<ref name="Ramet" /> Since then it has attracted less support. The HSP's military wing, the ] (HOS), participated in the ] and openly displayed Ustaše symbols.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldstein |first1=Ivo |title=Croatia: A History |date=1999 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |isbn=978-0-77352-017-2 |page=225 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJexhW3C0TIC&pg=PA225}}</ref>
A more recent example of leniency towards neo-Fascism is how the pop/folk/rock singer ] and his band ] made a career for himself by singing patriotic tunes, but this has sometimes resulted in singing borderline fascist lyrics praising WWII criminals (cf. ]), and he is not afraid to display his Ustaša sentiment because he never faced any official opposition in Croatia for doing so. Thompson has appeared on public television and still does, and with the support of right-wing politicians, his concerts have attracted support from tens of thousands of people based on this sentiment. He was banned from performing in Netherlands and other states that do not allow display of Nazi symbols and celebration of the Holocaust.
* The ] (HČSP), far-right or neo-fascist<ref>{{cite web |last1=Strickland |first1=Patrick |title=Croatia's 'alt-right': A dangerous group on the margins |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/17/croatias-alt-right-a-dangerous-group-on-the-margins/ |website=Al Jazeera |date=17 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="Britannica">{{cite book |title=The Britannica Guide to Political Science and Social Movements That Changed the Modern World |date=2009 |publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing |isbn=978-1-61530-062-4 |page=233 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FcKcAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA233}}</ref> and ultranationalist, founded by Ivan Gabelica and Nedeljko Gabelica.<ref name="Davies&Lynch" /> A marginal party with some representation in local municipalities. It holds an annual event on 10 April to celebrate the establishment of the NDH. It also protests the Pride parade and commemorations for Ustaše victims.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maldini |first1=Pero |last2=Paukovic |first2=Davor |title=Croatia and the European Union: Changes and Development |date=2016 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-31715-697-0 |page=130 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Li1CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA130}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Ristic |first1=Marija |last2=Milekic |first2=Sven |last3=Zivanovic |first3=Maja |last4=Dzidic |first4=Denis |title=Far-Right Balkan Groups Flourish on the Net |url=https://resonantvoices.info/far-right-balkan-groups-flourish-on-the-net/806/ |website=Resonant Voices Initiative |publisher=Balkan Insight |date=5 May 2017}}</ref>
* The ] (DP), right-wing nationalist or far-right party founded by folk singer ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vukobratovic |first1=Nikola |title=Croatian Election Campaign Haunted by Anti-Serb Rhetoric |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2020/06/18/croatian-election-campaign-haunted-by-anti-serb-rhetoric/ |website=BalkanInsight |publisher=BIRN |date=18 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hopkins |first1=Valerie |title=Croatia's nationalist revival points to role for far-right |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2a3a4601-eec1-41ef-8c22-171471e176e6 |work=The Financial Times |date=3 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Orovic |first1=Joe |last2=Kinglsey |first2=Patrick |title=Croatian Prime Minister's Gamble on Early Elections Pays Off |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/05/world/europe/croatia-election-plenkovic-coronavirus.html |work=The New York Times |date=3 July 2020}}</ref> ], the founder and first leader of the ]]]
The coalition led by the Homeland Movement came third at the ], winning 10.89% of the vote and 16 seats.<ref>{{cite web |title=Croatian PM hails 'victory' for conservatives in parliamentary vote |url=https://www.dw.com/en/croatian-pm-hails-victory-for-conservatives-in-parliamentary-vote/a-54060379|website=Deutsche Welle|access-date=18 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Croatia's nationalist revival points to role for far-right |url=https://www.ft.com/content/2a3a4601-eec1-41ef-8c22-171471e176e6|website=Financial Times|date=3 July 2020|access-date=18 September 2020|last1=Hopkins|first1=Valerie}}</ref> The ] was one of the leading topics during political debates, while the Homeland Movement advocated a ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Croatia's ruling conservatives win parliamentary election |url=https://www.euronews.com/2020/07/04/croatia-election-will-the-ruling-party-s-early-election-gamble-pay-off|website=Euronews|date = 4 July 2020|access-date=18 September 2020}}</ref>


=== Defunct ===
==Impact on and of the War of Independence==
* The Croatian Democratic Party of Rights (HDSP), extreme-right or neo-fascist,<ref name="Britannica" /> founded by Krešimir Pavelić that was active during the 1990s.<ref name="Davies&Lynch" /><ref name="Far-right1995">{{cite book |last1=Cheles |first1=Ronnie |last2=Cheles |first2=Luciano |last3=Ferguson |first3=Ronnie |last4=Vaughan |first4=Michalina |title=The Far Right in Western and Eastern Europe |date=1995 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-58223-881-7 |page=164}}</ref>
* The National Democratic League (NDL), extreme-right or neo-fascist,<ref name="Britannica" /> led by ].<ref name="Far-right1995" />
* Croatian Block (HB), extreme-right and militant, founded in 2004<ref name="Mammone&Godin&Jenkins" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Lansford |first1=Tom |title=Political Handbook of the World 2018-2019 |date=2019 |publisher=CQ Press |isbn=978-1-54432-711-2 |page=1930 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VCFoDwAAQBAJ&pg=RA1-PA1930}}</ref> and disbanded in 2009.


==Post-war political scene==
When Croatia started secession from ] in the ], there was widespread and growing antagonism between the ] and the ]. The disruption of decent relations towards the victims of WWII, particularly to the victims of Ustaša genocide, was offensive to the Serbs. While in normal circumstances these incidents would have been immediately sanctioned, in an atmosphere of fear built up by nationalist propaganda, the existing memory of WWII was easily exaggerated to make the Serbs frightened of the new developments.


===WWII genocide denial===
There was no official connection between the Ustaše ideology and the politics of the new government that made Croatia independent from Yugoslavia, but numerous parallels were drawn between these two ideas by its detractors.
{{Main|Denial of the genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia}}
{{Seealso|Holocaust denial}}
In recent times, mainstream Croatian politicians, such as ], brought more focus to anti-fascist stances and veterans groups. Remembrance ceremonies at the site of ] resumed, with support from the highest levels of government, including the right-wing HDZ under ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.vjesnik.hr/html/2004/03/17/Clanak.asp?r=unu&c=1 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20040504084649/http://www.vjesnik.hr/html/2004/03/17/Clanak.asp?r=unu&c=1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2004-05-04 |language=hr |newspaper=] |title=Sanader: Nema tog cilja koji može opravdati zločin |date=2004-03-17 |quote=»Osuđujemo i odbacujemo svaki ekstremizam, radikalizam, rasnu, nacionalnu i vjersku mržnju i netoleranciju ma s koje strane dolazile«, rekao je predsjednik Vlade dr. Ivo Sanader odajući počast žrtvama koncentracijskog logora u Jasenovcu. Premijer je u utorak posjetio Spomen-područje Jasenovac u povodu završetka radova na obnovi spomenika Bogdana Bogdanovića »Kameni cvijet«. |access-date=2010-11-30 }}</ref>


The World War II war crimes committed by the Ustaše had been processed in Yugoslavia, but some cases had protracted long enough to become the responsibility of the modern-day Croatian authorities. In 1999, Croatia extradited ] from ], one of the commanders of the Jasenovac concentration camp, and he was subsequently tried and sentenced to 20 years in prison, at the time the highest penalty under Croatian law.
The ] (''Hrvatska demokratska zajednica'', HDZ) which became the ruling political party in Croatia, and its president ], also had the financial support of the so-called Ustaša diaspora during the late 1980s and 1990s. The term "Ustaša diaspora" refers to those in the Croatian ] who had emigrated after WWII (who were often, although not always, directly connected to the NDH regime). The most notable supporting argument for this is the fact that ] and other such returnees became influential politicians in modern Croatia. The resurgence of the Ustaša ideology in present-day Croatia is often connected to this.


The conservative parties such as the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) and the ] (HDZ) permeated in their support for extreme forms of nationalism and far-right ideas.<ref name="index-dragisic-2007">{{cite web | url = http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/hrvatska-mrznja/351450.aspx | language = hr | publisher = ] | title = Hrvatska mržnja | date = 2007-06-20 | author = Jovan Dragišić | access-date = 2010-12-05}}</ref> This has been particularly apparent in the latter, which has a large membership and voter base and appeals to a broad spectrum of right-wing voters.
Some Ustaša emigrants freely returned to Croatia in the 1990s, although after 45 years, few actual active Ustaše were still among the active population (most were rather elderly). There were factions that wished to restore the Ustaše ideology and iconography, mostly among the resident Croatian population, and even though they weren't successful, they were never banned by the government. During the ], these committed ] against the Serb population on several occasions.


The two-time prime minister ] of HDZ came to power after promoting himself as an avid advocate of Croatian general ] in 2001. The far-right position with regard to war crimes committed in the Croatian war of independence has been one of a general denial - the Croatian side is seen as inherently not responsible for any crimes because its role in the war is one of a victim. This view is the extreme form of the position taken by the ], which allows "pursuit of a legitimate goal of defending one's country against an armed aggression" to be considered a mitigating circumstance in war crimes trials.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/croatia-urged-speed-war-crimes-prosecutions-2010-12-09 | title = Croatia urged to speed up war crimes prosecutions | publisher = ] | date = 2010-12-09 | access-date = 2010-12-09}}</ref> In general, with respect to processing war crimes, the Croatian Government (mostly under HDZ) has had a rather spotty record for processing those committed by Croats.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/11721/hrvatski-sudovi-nisu-sposobni-procesuirati-ratne-zlocine-i-zato-to-mora-uciniti-haag |language=hr |newspaper=] |author=Anto Nobilo |title=Hrvatski sudovi nisu sposobni procesuirati ratne zločine i zato to mora učiniti Haag |date=2002-10-02 |quote= Za vrijeme Tuđmana pravosuđe je šutjelo i vrlo rijetko nešto sudilo. Nakon 3. siječnja 2000. pokrenuto je, istina, vrlo malo postupaka, međutim, gotovo svi su završili katastrofalno. Ne ulazeći u krivnju ljudi u svakom pojedinom predmetu, zaista izgleda čudno što hrvatski sud nije osudio baš nikoga od Hrvata za bilo kakav ratni zločin ili zločin protiv čovječnosti tijekom 11 proteklih godina. |access-date=2010-11-30 |trans-title=Croatian courts are not capable of processing war crimes, therefore the Hague must do that |archive-date=23 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523183651/http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/11721/hrvatski-sudovi-nisu-sposobni-procesuirati-ratne-zlocine-i-zato-to-mora-uciniti-haag }}</ref> Pressure from the ] helped rectify this. After Sanader and HDZ were elected in 2003, Norac was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Croatia has also been cooperating with the ] in the legal prosecution of all persons accused of war crimes, which has included Croatian officers, notably ], who was acquitted of all charges by the ] on 16 November 2012.
President ] himself had controversial views on the topic of World War II, claiming that the Ustaša state was indeed an expression of the Croat state tradition. Such a notion could be considered true in view of Croatia's long historical struggle for independence, but because Croatia was a ] of Hitler at the time, that position is hard to defend.


Parties like the ] which are most commonly associated with Ustašism generally aren't able to attract support from more than a few percent of the population (HSP coalition won 6.4% of the national popular vote in the ] and 3.5% in the ]). In recent times, the HSP's image of "pro-Ustaša" was repetitively shunned by its leaders in an attempt to sway more votes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/kraj-krajnje-desnice-/7250/ |newspaper=] |author=Davor Butković |language=hr |title=Kraj krajnje desnice? |date=2005-10-15 |access-date=2010-11-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201064414/http://www.jutarnji.hr/kraj-krajnje-desnice-/7250 |archive-date=2011-02-01 }}</ref> The ] openly praises the Ustaše regime, though the party does not meet the minimum number of votes needed to enter Parliament.<ref name="Radeljić & Topić">{{cite book |last1=Radeljić |first1=Branislav |last2=Topić |first2=Martina |title=Religion in the Post-Yugoslav Context |date=2015 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=978-1-49852-248-9 |page=67 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VEiCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA67}}</ref>
Note that the Croatian-Serbian animosity during the recent war in Croatia is sometimes mislabeled in an unsophisticated way as a Ustasha-Chetnik rivalry. To some extent, it is a consequence of wartime ], in the course of which such moralistic debasement is common.


On 11 July 2003 the ] coalition government passed amendments to the penal code which outlawed ], in a new section titled ''Praising fascist, Nazi and other totalitarian states and ideologies or promotion of racism and xenophobia''.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://narodne-novine.nn.hr/clanci/sluzbeni/2003_07_111_1496.html | language = hr | author = Croatian Parliament | author-link = Croatian Parliament | title = Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Kaznenog zakona | publisher = ] | work = NN 2003/111 | date = 2003-07-11 | access-date = 2010-11-30}}</ref>
==After the war==
The law is not perfectly applied, evidenced by the examples of regular public display of Ustasha memorabilia by the group "Hrvatski domobran" from Zadar that only recently started to get sanctioned by the police.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://novine.novilist.hr/Default.asp?WCI=Rubrike&WCU=286028632859285A2863285A28582858285C286328962897289E286328632859285A28592861285C286028632863286328582863W | newspaper = ] | language = hr | title = Stipić: Već 12 godina nosimo Pavelićevu sliku kroz Zadar | access-date = 2014-02-16}}{{subscription required}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/domobrani-paradirali-zadrom-noseci-pavelicevu-sliku/237958.aspx | language = hr | work = ] | title = Domobrani paradirali Zadrom noseći Pavelićevu sliku| date = 2004-12-06 | access-date = 2020-01-22 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.novilist.hr/default.asp?WCI=Pretrazivac&WCU=285A28582863285D2863285A28582858285E2863286328632859285A28592860285A286028632863286328592863R |newspaper=] |language=hr |title=Obljetnica prosinačkih žrtava zloupotrijebljena za javnu manifestaciju ekstremne desnice - Ustaški defile središtem Zadra |date=2004-12-07 |access-date=2010-11-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071109093800/http://www.novilist.hr/default.asp?WCI=Pretrazivac&WCU=285A28582863285D2863285A28582858285E2863286328632859285A28592860285A286028632863286328592863R |archive-date=2007-11-09 }}</ref>


On 20 June 2006 Croatian prime minister ] issued a message ahead of the ] (an official holiday in Croatia), in which he rejected extremism and radicalism, and said that "antifascism was a commitment weaved into the foundations of independent, democratic Croatia".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/sanader-cestitao-dan-antifasizma/224225/ |title=Sanader čestitao Dan antifašizma |date=June 20, 2006 |language=hr |access-date=2012-07-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212359/http://www.jutarnji.hr/sanader-cestitao-dan-antifasizma/224225/ |archive-date=2016-03-03 }}</ref>
The right-wing parties often attracted votes by promoting extreme nationalism. The rightist parties such as the ] and the ] permeated in their support for extremism; particularly in the latter, which had a large membership and voter base, it was unclear whether actions of party members were part of actual party policy or result of factioning.


Croatia has no laws against ] or ]. This can be attributed to the change of political system, and the change in the entire system of values as the country became independent. Revisionism was not frowned upon because priority was placed on the re-evaluation of history as recorded during the Communist era, which was therefore deemed almost implicitly tainted, because it systematically omitted or misrepresented issues related to what was perceived to be ]. On the other hand, the revision of history books often went too far in making them increasingly focused on Croatian national issues, even with far-right interpretations of various World War II events.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.cpi.hr/download/links/hr/7007.pdf | language = hr | publisher = Political Science Research Centre | location = Zagreb, Croatia | title = Istraživanja školskih udžbenika u Jugoistočnoj Europi. Problemi, projekti, perspektive | author = Heike Karge | date = 2000-10-22 | quote = raspravu o školskim udžbenicima, koja se osobito rasplamsala u vezi sa školskim udžbenicima povijesti iz Tuđmanove ere, dakle u vezi sa veoma spornima i osporavanim interpretativnim uzorcima u njima, osobito kada je riječ o suvremenoj povijesti. | access-date = 2010-11-30 | archive-date = 2011-07-21 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721100347/http://www.cpi.hr/download/links/hr/7007.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.h-alter.org/vijesti/kultura/udzbenici-povijest-bolesti | publisher = H-alter.org | language = hr | title = Udžbenici – povijest bolesti | author = Bojan Munjin | date = 2010-01-28 | quote = udžbenici povijesti listom su postali etnocentrični ili nacionalistički a povijest okolnih naroda, prikazana šturo i selektivno, kao da je zaboravljena. | access-date = 2010-11-30}}</ref> The re-examination of the number of victims of the Independent State of Croatia, particularly the ] and ], was fairly common, as well as fairly controversial. Statistical research such as that by ] indicated serious flaws with Yugoslav data, whose sources had been kept secret until 1989.
The actual neo-Ustaša politicians have never had ] support among the Croatian people. The parties like the ] which are most commonly associated with Ustašism generally aren't able to attract support from more than a few percent of the population. In recent times, the Party's image of "pro-Ustaša" was repetitively shunned by its leaders in an attempt to sway more votes.


Croatia's far-right often advocates the false theory that Jasenovac was a "labour camp" where mass murder did not take place.<ref name="Milekic">{{cite web |last1=Milekic |first1=Sven |title=Croatia Ex-President Shown Downplaying WWII Crimes |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2017/01/24/videos-reveal-croatian-ex-president-shocking-wwii-statements-01-24-2017/ |website=Balkan Insight |publisher=BIRN |date=24 January 2017}}</ref> Among them is the far-right NGO "The Society for Research of the Threefold Jasenovac Camp" which also claims that the camp was used by the Yugoslav authorities following the war to imprison Ustasha members and regular Home Guard army troops until 1948, then alleged Stalinists until 1951.<ref name="Milekic" /> Members of the organization includes public figures such as journalist ], Catholic priest ] and academic ].<ref name="Vladisavljevic">{{cite web |last1=Vladisavljevic |first1=Anja |title=Book Event Questioning WWII Crimes Planned for Zagreb Church |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2019/01/07/new-revisionist-book-on-jasenovac-wwii-camp-01-07-2019-1/ |website=Balkan Insight |publisher=BIRN |date=7 January 2019}}</ref> The ideas promoted by its members have been amplified by mainstream media interviews and book tours.<ref name="Vladisavljevic" /> Vukić's book "The Jasenovac Lie Revealed" prompted the Simon Wiesenthal Center to urge Croatian authorities to ban such works, noting that they "would immediately be banned in Germany and Austria and rightfully so".<ref>{{cite web |title=Simon Wiesenthal Centre urges Croatia to ban Jasenovac revisionist works |url=http://hr.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a361178/Simon-Wiesenthal-Centre-urges-Croatia-to-ban-Jasenovac-revisionist-works.html |website=hr.n1info.com |publisher=N1 Zagreb |date=9 January 2019 |access-date=27 April 2020 |archive-date=9 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009060853/http://hr.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a361178/Simon-Wiesenthal-Centre-urges-Croatia-to-ban-Jasenovac-revisionist-works.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Jewish rights group urges Croatia to ban pro-Nazi book |url=https://apnews.com/11edaa150f63423989db3540cbbdbd69 |publisher=Associated Press |date=9 January 2019}}</ref> Croatian filmmaker ] also peddled this theory in his documentary '']'', bringing accusations of holocaust and genocide denial from organisations representing the ethnic groups that were the primary victims of the camp.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Milekic |first1=Sven |title=Dishonour for Zagreb Over 'Alternative Facts' About Holocaust |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2017/04/21/dishonour-for-zagreb-over-alternative-facts-about-holocaust-04-21-2017/ |website=BalkanInsight |access-date=5 September 2019 |date=21 April 2017}}</ref>
] who was indicted by the ] in ], together with the Ustaše logo (letter "U") and the abbrevation for the ] ("NDH")]]


In November 2016 in Jasenovac, a plaque with the slogan "Za dom spremni" was unveiled.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Milekic |first1=Sven |title=Fascist Slogan Near Croatia Concentration Camp Sparks Anger |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2016/12/05/plaque-near-wwii-concentration-camp-scandalises-region-12-05-2016/ |website=Balkan Insight |publisher=BIRN |date=5 December 2016}}</ref>
As a rightist political notion, the neo-fascist symbols are by and large paired with nationalist ones. In recent protests, supporters of ] and other suspected war criminals often carried nationalist symbols together with pictures of ].


===Graffiti===
With respect to processing war crimes, both in WWII and in the Croatian war of independence, the Croatian Government has had a rather spotty record for processing those committed by Croats. The pressure from the ], given that Croatia aims to join the EU, has helped rectify this in recent times.


Far-right extremist graffiti in Croatia often targets ethnic ], ] and ].{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}
In ], Croatia had Argentina extradite ], one of the commanders of the Jasenovac concentration camp, and he was subsequently tried and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Croatia has been cooperating with the ] in the legal prosecution of all war criminals, which has included Croatian officers.


]!", as well as the logo of the ] and the acronym for the ]. ''(see text)'']]
The effort to return Serbian refugees to their homes in Croatia has also been hampered by Ustaša-related issues - the fear of harassment and/or retribution at the hand of the "Ustaše" persists, and it is one of the things which have prevented the majority of Serbs from returning. (For more information on non-neo-fascist issues troubling the ], see that article.)
The conflation of modern and obsolete nationalist themes sometimes produces bizarre inconsistencies, as shown at picture on the right: at the time when the ] wanted Croatian general ], the right-wing part of the public was adamant in its demands to prevent that, and some extremist painted graffiti saying so, together with neo-fascist symbols. At the same time, Bobetko was quite clearly not a neo-fascist himself, because his family was killed by the Ustaše,<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.hsp1861.hr/vijesti3/020920mj.htm | language = hr | newspaper = ] | date = 2002-09-20 | title = Sve drame umirovljenoga generala | publisher = ] | access-date = 2010-11-30}}</ref> and he fought against them.


===Names of squares and streets===
The neo-Nazi symbols and slogans often deface walls in Croatia. The serif letter U (sometimes embellished with a cross, and/or letters NDH) representing ] is the most common, while there are also instances of much more explicit hate speech: the phrase ] (meaning "hang Serbs on the willow trees!") also appears in ] and as slogans of Croatian football hooligans. Serbian property, even Orthodox churches, continue to be occasionally vandalized with various Ustasha-related graffiti, and the authorities, while nominally opposed to it, are in practice fairly indifferent about catching spraypainters.
A square in the central part of ] had been named the "Square of the victims of fascism" (''Trg žrtava fašizma'') because during World War II, over sixteen thousand people had been deported via the square to concentration camps. In the early 1990s, this square was renamed to "Square of great Croats" (''Trg hrvatskih velikana''). This decision was later reverted in December 2000 during ]'s mayoralty of ].<ref>{{cite journal | url = http://hrcak.srce.hr/40110?lang=en | language = hr | journal = Migracijske i etničke teme | publisher = Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies | location = Zagreb, Croatia | issn = 1333-2546 | volume = 25 | issue = 1–2 | title = Preimenovanja zagrebačkih ulica i trgova | first1 = Jelena | last1 = Stanić | first2 = Laura | last2 = Šakaja | first3 = Lana | last3 = Slavuj | date = 2009-06-02 | access-date = 2010-11-30}}</ref>


In several Croatian cities, streets were renamed after ], a prominent Ustaša ideologist, on the basis that he was otherwise a writer. The moves to hail Budak this way, were supported by 120 university professors, scholars, and other public figures.<ref>{{cite web | author = Drago Pilsel | url = http://www.index.hr/clanak.aspx?id=219120 | title = Sveti Ante Pavelić | publisher = ] | date = 2004-08-25 | access-date = 2010-09-03}}</ref> Conversely, the leftist newspaper '']'' regularly satirized the Mile Budak streets, and its journalists explicitly criticized this trend.
In 2004, in a telephone straw poll conducted during the "]" talk show at the ], more than 17,000 calls were in favour of Ustashas and the ISC. Due to the nature of the poll, where each call was charged approx. half a euro and the system made no effort to remove duplicate callers, this result is of limited usefulness. The ratio of calls was 58% in favour and 42% against., ,


The renaming of streets and squares after Budak (and other Ustaša-related people) has mostly been reversed by recent governments. In 2003, ]'s government decided to finally deal with the issue which resulted in a decision to rename all the streets bearing Budak's name. In 2004, a plaque commemorating Budak's birth in the village of Sveti Rok was removed by the same authorities. Numerous local authorities however refused to follow up with the renames or delayed them.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.novilist.hr/2009/11/26/zagrebacki-mjesni-odbor-nosi-ime.aspx |newspaper=] |language=hr |date=2009-11-17 |title=Zagrebački mjesni odbor nosi ime Mile Budaka |access-date=2010-11-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100220085953/http://www.novilist.hr/2009/11/26/zagrebacki-mjesni-odbor-nosi-ime.aspx |archive-date=2010-02-20 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.zagreb.hr/default.aspx?id=15248 | language = hr | publisher = City of ] | title = 6. Mjesni odbor "Oton Župančič" | quote = Do 22. srpnja 2010. Mjesni odbor je nosio naziv Hrvatskog književnika Mile Budaka. | access-date = 2010-12-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.vecernji.hr/regije/preimenovanje-ulice-mile-budaka-ceka-izbore-mjesne-odbore-clanak-114535 | newspaper = ] | language = hr | title = Preimenovanje Ulice Mile Budaka čeka izbore za mjesne odbore | date = 2010-03-22 | access-date = 2010-11-30}}</ref>
==The Bleiburg controversy==


On 6 October 2009, the Croatian extreme right-wing ], the Croatian Cultural Movement (HUP), publicly declared its intention to erect a monument in honour of former Ustaše leader ] in ] adjacent to the capital's centre square. The ]i director of the ] slammed the proposed monument as a falsification of history and an insult to the memory of the victims of the NDH.<ref>{{cite web|last=Blondy |first=Brian |url=http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=252258 |title=Croatian NGO plans monument to Nazi collaborator Ante Pavelic, Jerusalem Post, October 6th, 2009 |publisher=Fr.jpost.com |date=6 October 2009 |access-date=22 March 2012}}</ref> No such monument was actually erected.
To their modern supporters, the Ustaše are not considered responsible for mass murder that they committed, and instead they are considered to have been victims of the ], a major reprisal of the Partisans against them during the last months of the war.


==Popular culture==
The main controversy of Bleiburg stems from the fact that it was a large-scale massacre which was entirely covered up by the new Communist authorities. Such treatment of this event had lasted for several decades, and it greatly contributed to the rhetoric of the proponents of the Ustaše. Being able to portray their side in the war as a victim and making it possible to point to the Partisans as also being "wrong" or "evil" (see also: ]) generally serves as a tool in the political jousting on moral supremacy between the political ] and the ].
], ] sign at the ] concert]]
In the world of ], the pop/folk/rock singer ] (''Thompson'') caused a scandal when the media obtained a copy song '']'' allegedly sung by him. Perković was reportedly not prosecuted for this due to uncertainty as to whether it was really he who sang the song.<ref name="index-2003">{{cite web | url = http://www.index.hr/clanak.aspx?id=178032 | language = hr | title = Thompson - domoljub ili fašist? Konačan odgovor je... | author = Matija Babić | author-link = Matija Babić | date = 2003-12-28 | access-date = 2010-12-05}}</ref><ref name="iht-2007">{{cite news | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/01/europe/croatia.php | newspaper = ]/] | date = 2007-07-01 | title = A Croatian rock star flirts with the Nazi past | access-date = 2010-11-30}}</ref> He has appeared on public television, and can still sometimes be seen on it, even though mainstream TV stations do tend to avoid him in order to avoid controversy.<ref name="index-2003"/><ref name="iht-2007"/> His concerts regularly attract the far-right crowd.<ref name="index-2003"/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.index.hr/xmag/clanak/thompson-na-maksimiru-trijumf-iz-drugog-pokusaja/351246.aspx | language = hr | title = Thompson na Maksimiru: Trijumf iz drugog pokušaja | publisher = ] | quote = Zakon velikih brojeva i male pameti je nalagao da će na ovom koncertu biti i veći broj ustašoljubaca a prolazak maksimirskim travnjakom ispred pozornice i ikonografija viđena kod više desetaka onih koji misle da je tvornica smrti zvana NDH nešto uzvišeno pokazuju da policija na ulazima zakonske odredbe o sprječavanju poticanja i širenja rasne netrpeljivosti i nije shvaćala odveć ozbiljno. | access-date = 2010-12-05}}</ref>


It has been widely alleged that he achieved such large attendances with the support of right-wing political organizations who helped rally people to the concerts. He has been banned from performing in ]<ref name="index-2003"/> and other states that do not allow display of Nazi symbols and celebration of ], although his group (]) performed at ] in ] in November 2007, despite well-reported controversy and criticism from the ].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&b=4442245&ct=5851441 | title=Wiesenthal Center Urges New York Archdiocese To Disassociate Itself From Concert Of A Croatian Rock Singer Who Celebrates Ethnic Cleansing And Genocide In His Music | date=October 25, 2007 | access-date=2012-07-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/svijet/americki-i-kanadski-mediji-promijenili-stav-prema-thompsonu.html | title=Američki i kanadski mediji promijenili stav prema Thompsonu | date=November 6, 2007 | agency=] | language=hr | access-date=2012-07-14}}</ref>
During the time of the rise of ] in late 1980s and 1990s, Bleiburg massacre began to be exploited for political purposes, as the number of victims was inflated by proponents of the Ustaše. In 1990, a cousin of ] claimed in Bleiburg that there were 10,000 killed there, and that they were Ustasha and Domobran soldiers. There are reports of claims of in between 100,000, and hundreds of thousands victims , , - and some claimed that they were all soldiers, while some claimed that they were mostly civilians. At the same time, the number of victims of the Holocaust in Croatia was reevaluated, and some attempted to whitewash it.


Thompson himself has denied he has anything to do with Nazism numerous times, and called the campaign against him cheap propaganda, saying he was merely a proud Croatian.<ref name="index-2003"/>
A bizarre controversy arose when Tudjman , , proposed to rebury the victims of Bleiburg together with the victims of the ] as a sign of "national reconciliation", although it should be noted that Croatian partisans were only a very small proportion of casualties at Jasenovac. Croatian Serbs, whose relatives died in Jasenovac and other concentration camps in Croatia, found the proposal greatly insulting, to say the least.


== See also == ==Catholic clergy==
A part of the Catholic clergy in Croatia openly praises the Ustaše regime and denies any wrongdoing from the side of Croats and Catholic Church. Praise for the regime is primarily expressed through commemorations for Ante Pavelić on 28 December, the date of his death. Catholic representatives do not attend Holocaust commemorations but they regularly attend ]s.<ref name="Radeljić & Topić" />
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Controversy was caused in June 2008 when Croatian military bishop ] sang a song named ''Bijeli golubovi'' by ], the controversial singer mentioned above, during a sermon in a church in ].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.slobodnadalmacija.hr/Hrvatska/tabid/66/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/12498/Default.aspx | language = hr | title = Državni vrh protiv fašizma, Crkva protiv podaništva | newspaper = ] | date = 2008-06-25 | access-date = 2010-12-05}}</ref> The song contained also the NDH motto "]".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bljesak.info/content/view/12187/159/ |publisher=Bljesak.info |language=hr |title=Biskup Jezerinac na misi recitirao Thompsona |date=2008-06-25 |access-date=2010-12-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080818063153/http://www.bljesak.info/content/view/12187/159/ |archive-date=2008-08-18 }}</ref>
==External links ==


] director ] complained to the Croatian president ] about the funeral of ], one of the leaders of the army of the Independent State of Croatia, who died in July 2008. At that funeral, Croatian Dominican priest pater ] held a speech in which he said that "the court that indicted Dinko Šakić indicted Croatia and Croatians", and that "every Croat should be proud of Šakić's name".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nacional.hr/articles/view/47685/2/ |language=hr |title=Zuroff Mesiću: Osudite organizatore Šakićevog sprovoda |newspaper=] |date=2008-07-29 |access-date=2010-12-05 |trans-title=Zuroff to Mesić: Condemn Šakić funeral organizers |author=Hrvoje Šimičević |archive-date=7 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507235031/http://www.nacional.hr/clanak/47685/zuroff-mesicu-osudite-organizatore-sakicevog-sprovoda }}</ref>
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==Sports==


Ultranationalist Croats have shouted the slogan "Kill the Serb" during some sporting events.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/ako-ces-ubit-srbina-ucini-to-na-maksimiru/408089.aspx |title=Ako ćeš ubit Srbina, učini to na Maksimiru - Vijesti.net |publisher=Index.hr |access-date=2010-09-03}}</ref> According to some Croatian media, a group of youths chanted this during a concert by ].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dnevnik.hr/bin/article.php?article_id=48080&page=5&p_all_items=44 |title=60 tisuća ljudi po nevremenu dočekalo Thompsona, vikalo se i 'Ubij, ubij Srbina!' - Dnevnik.hr<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=2008-06-02 |archive-date=2016-01-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111060450/http://dnevnik.hr/bin/article.php?article_id=48080&page=5&p_all_items=44 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref></ref>
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In January 2006, the Ustasha song "Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara" was played publicly during the interval of an international club volleyball match. Officials later attributed the incident to a single individual, and the police did not intervene.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.index.hr/clanak.aspx?id=301266 | publisher = ]/] | language = hr | title = Bivši igrač Cibone za vrijeme međunarodne utakmice puštao &quot;Jasenovac&quot;? | date = 2006-01-16 | access-date = 2010-11-30}}</ref>

During a friendly 2006 match between ] and ] in ], a group of some 200 Croatian fans arranged themselves into a "human ]" formation, with many also performing Nazi salutes, allegedly in response to leftist Italian fans jeering at the Croatian national anthem and waving Yugoslav communist flags.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525901351&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull|title=Croatia to receive penalty for 'human swastika'|date=August 18, 2006|newspaper=The Jerusalem Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427085842/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1154525901351&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull|archive-date=2011-04-27|url-status=dead|access-date=2008-07-19}}</ref><ref name="croatfans" /> ] penalized the ] for the incident.<ref name="croatfans">{{Cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/croatia-threatened-with-euro-2008-expulsion-by-uefa-7253785.html|title = Croatia threatened with Euro 2008 expulsion by UEFA|date = 14 April 2012}}</ref>

In 2007, Croatian football fans formed the letter U in a stadium during a match in Bosnia and Herzegovina.<ref></ref>

In October 2007, the Croatian newspaper ] reported that ]'s official clothing items featured ]-related symbols (The letter U and the ]-resembling ] inside the letter. That was, in fact, the logo of the club's leading sponsor, the edile company gUj (meaning "Gojko Und Jure"). Some historians and critics claim the symbols display is an open praising of the Ustaše.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jutarnji.hr/imotski-nogometasi-nose-na-dresovima-ustasko-znakovlje/274078/ |language=hr |title=Imotski nogometaši nose na dresovima ustaško znakovlje |newspaper=] |date=2007-10-28 |access-date=2010-12-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729020612/http://www.jutarnji.hr/imotski-nogometasi-nose-na-dresovima-ustasko-znakovlje/274078/ |archive-date=2012-07-29 }}</ref> The club's president, Nediljko Tolo, said: "As long as the sponsor finances our club, we will carry those symbols on our dresses".<ref>{{cite news | url = http://arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr/20071028/novosti02.asp | newspaper = ] | language = hr | title = Imotski nogometaši ustaše za šaku kuna | date = 2007-10-28 | access-date = 2010-12-05}}</ref> In early November 2007, the Croatian Second League Association announced that ] violated ], ] rules and laws of the ]. NK Imotski had to end a sponsorship deal with gUj until the company changes its logo. NK Imotski had to find new uniforms for the players and remove all gUj advertisements around the stadium.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/sporni-logo-bit-ce-uklonjen.html | language = hr | title = NK Imotski s 'ustaškim' majicama prekršio zakon | publisher = Dnevnik.hr/] | date = 2007-11-01 | access-date = 2010-12-05}}</ref>

In November 2007, it was reported that members of the ] supporters' group, ], were wearing black T-shirts featuring the words "Hajduk jugend" (alluding to ]) in ] and an eagle atop Hajduk's logo (resembling ]). The T-shirts were also being sold on Torcida's website. Stipe Lekić, the secretary of Torcida said to reporters that "Torcida has always been leaning to the right", but rejecting accusations that the T-shirts have connections with ]. He said that he was wearing the T-shirt because he liked the symbols.<ref name="jutarnji-2007-11">{{cite news | url = http://www.jutarnji.hr/dogadjaji_dana/clanak/art-2007,11,2,torcida_nacizam,96530.jl | language = hr | newspaper = ] | title = Torcida blati Split nacističkim orlom | date = 2007-11-02 | access-date = 2012-02-12}}</ref>

Also in November 2007, a swastika appeared on ]'s ] football field, together with the slogan "Play, fags!" That was, reportedly done before the match with Međimurje. ]'s and their Kohorta fan association condemned the acts.<ref> {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20070618061028/http://www.net.hr/sport/page/2007/11/06/0623006.html |date=2007-06-18 }}</ref>

In June 2012, the Croatian and German football federations were fined for singing songs associated with Nazism and wearing Nazi symbols.<ref>{{cite web |title=UEFA crack down on Croatia, Germany for racist behavior |url=https://www.dw.com/en/uefa-crack-down-on-croatia-germany-for-racist-behavior/a-16037270 |website=dw.com |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=19 June 2012}}</ref>

In November 2013, after the ] match between Croatia and Iceland, the ] ] of ], ], reportedly celebrated and motivated the crowd with the Ustashe chant "''Za dom, Spremni''" upon Croatian qualification to the ]. Simunic was disciplined by FIFA in December with a ten-match suspension and a fine of ] 30,000.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fifa.com/governance/news/y=2013/m=12/news=croatian-player-sanctioned-for-discrimination-2246473.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923194647/http://www.fifa.com/governance/news/y=2013/m=12/news=croatian-player-sanctioned-for-discrimination-2246473.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 23, 2015|title=Croatian player sanctioned for discriminatory behaviour|last=FIFA.com|date=2013-12-16|website=FIFA.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-06}}</ref>

==Croatian Misplaced Pages==
{{main|Croatian Misplaced Pages controversy}}
In September 2013, complaints about right-wing bias of administrators and editors on the ] arose. Those complaints were already present, but they began to receive media attention after the launch of a Facebook page titled "Razotkrivanje sramotne hr.wikipedije" ''(''English: ''"Exposing the shameful Croatian Misplaced Pages")'' whose creators warned the media about the bias. Croatia's Minister of Science, Education and Sports, ], called for pupils and students in Croatia to avoid using the Croatian Misplaced Pages. Snježana Koren, a historian at the ], has judged the disputed articles as "biased and malicious, partly even illiterate".<ref name="Koren150913"/> She further added that "These are the types of articles you can find on the pages of fringe organizations and movements, but there should be no place for that on Misplaced Pages", expressing doubts on the ability of its authors to distinguish good from evil.<ref name="Koren150913"/> Koren concludes that the ulterior motive of such writings is to rehabilitate the ], a ] ], and that "there is no other way to characterize such efforts than as ]".<ref name = Koren150913>{{cite web|url=http://www.novilist.hr/Vijesti/Hrvatska/Hr.wikipedija-pod-povecalom-zbog-falsificiranja-hrvatske-povijesti|title=Hr.wikipedija pod povećalom zbog falsificiranja hrvatske povijesti|publisher=]|language=hr|trans-title=Croatian Misplaced Pages under a scrutiny for fabricating Croatian history!|access-date=15 September 2013|archive-date=16 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916224336/http://www.novilist.hr/Vijesti/Hrvatska/Hr.wikipedija-pod-povecalom-zbog-falsificiranja-hrvatske-povijesti|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
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==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{in lang|hr}}

{{Europe topic |Far-right politics in}}


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Far-right politics in Croatia (Croatian: Krajnje desna politika) refers to any manifestation of far-right politics in the Republic of Croatia. Individuals and groups in Croatia that employ far-right politics are most often associated with the historical Ustaše movement, hence they have connections to Neo-Nazism and neo-fascism. That World War II political movement was an extremist organization at the time supported by the German Nazis and the Italian Fascists. The association with the Ustaše has been called "Neo-Ustashism" by Slavko Goldstein.

The common perception is that the far right includes people who were either involved with the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II; sympathizers; and people who utilise their symbolism. The far right mainly arose from a combination of the residual hatred from the Yugoslav wars and Croatian nationalism.

Pro-Ustaša symbols and actions have been restricted by law in Croatia since 2003. The most common venue for expressing these beliefs is graffiti.

Background

Main articles: Ustaše and The Independent State of Croatia

The Ustaše was a Croatian right-wing ultranationalist movement founded in 1929 by Ante Pavelić. After the establishment of the 6 January Dictatorship by Alexander I of Yugoslavia, Pavelić fled to Italy where he set up his organization's headquarters. Prior to World War II the Ustaše functioned as a paramilitary and terrorist organization, as it sought the separation of Croatia from Yugoslavia into an independent state through violent means. Notably, it was involved in the assassination of King Alexander in 1934 with the assistance of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO). The Ustaše however lacked broad support due to its radical and violent nature. When Nazi Germany invaded Yugoslavia in 1941, its territories were occupied by German, Italian and Hungarian forces. A German puppet-state, the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) was established and ruled by Pavelić and the Ustaše. During the Second World War, the Ustaše conducted genocide against Serbs, Roma and Jews within their borders. The Jasenovac concentration camp was a notorious death camp where extermination of these groups took place. After the war ended, many of the Ustaše fled to safety abroad in countries like Argentina and Spain. In 1957 Pavelić was wounded after an assassination attempt on him and died two years later from his injuries.

Several far-right political parties in Croatia trace their roots to Ante Starčević and view the Independent State of Croatia as a legitimate foundational state. Most openly declare their affiliation with the Ustaše. Across the right-wing spectrum, various common themes emerge with varying degrees of which include the desire for a Greater Croatia, a negative stance towards the ICTY, anti-Serbianism, positive view of the NDH and negative attitudes towards NATO and the European Union.

Za dom spremni ("Ready for the Homeland") was the WWII fascist salute used by the Ustaše and is considered to be the equivalent of the Nazi German Sieg heil. In some elements of Croatian society there is a narrative that claims the usage of the greeting predates the Ustaše, a claim that is rejected by the scholarly consensus. Since Croatia's independence, the salute has become "re-popularized" through public discourse by the right-wing.

Croatian far right during Yugoslavia

At the end of World War II, the Communist authorities pursued a strict set of policies which could be deemed as a form of denazification, only more similar to the Soviet style than to the American style. People who collaborated with the Ustaše were often court-martialled at the end of the war, and there were extrajudicial killings of collaborationist troops in the Bleiburg repatriations. Trials against suspected collaborators continued long after the end of the war. In the 1980s, Andrija Artuković was extradited to Yugoslavia from the United States, and prosecuted in SR Croatia where he died in a prison hospital. The secret service exercised harsh control over both citizens with links to the Ustaše and mere Croatian nationalists. UDBA continuously monitored the Croatian diaspora, and was implicated in numerous assassinations, notably that of Bruno Bušić in 1978.

In the aftermath of WWII, a guerrilla/terrorist anti-communist and Croatian nationalist insurgency group, the Crusaders, formed, and carried out terrorist acts against the new multi-ethnic communist state. Between 1962 and 1982, Croatian nationalist groups carried out 128 terror attacks against Yugoslav civilian and military targets; notably it bombed a JAT plane killing 27 people in 1972. All of these groups operated outside of Yugoslavia, given the Yugoslav regime's consolidation of power which made it difficult for them to operate inside the country.

Early independent political scene

In the process of the breakup of Yugoslavia, Croatia gained independence from the SFR Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The modern Croatia was formed long after World War II was over, and aside from occasional exceptions, there was no desire by the Croatian political elite to associate the new country with the former Independent State of Croatia, or to revisit the status of Croatia as a member of the winning side of that war.

Nevertheless, the introduction of the freedom of speech enabled public expression of far-right politics. The new mainstream politics showed significantly more courtesy to the Ustaše for their desire to make Croatia independent, but they were neither rehabilitated nor explicitly banned. Subsequently, no new laws were passed in the 1990s that specifically targeted the issues of Nazism or fascism. The primary reason for the disregard of past fascism in Croatia has been a lack of priority and care taken by the Croatian public and the mainstream politics towards the issue, because numerous other issues plagued the country at the time. The late president of Croatia, Franjo Tuđman, who had been a Partisan general who had fought the Ustaše, became a champion of reconciliation (Croatian pomirenje or pomirba), whereby Croats of all political views should unite against the shared threat from Serbia. This had the effect of also bringing pro-Ustaše Croats into the fray, their philosophy and ideas no longer taboo. Tuđman publicly stated that the Ustaša state was not only criminal in nature but also an expression of the desire of Croats to regain their independence after centuries. Such a notion could be considered true in view of Croatia's long historical struggle for independence, but does not give enough consideration to the puppet-state status of the NDH. After the war more anti-fascist-inclined people were no longer willing to set aside political differences with the more fascist-inclined.

At the time, Croatia was often accused of ignoring the crimes committed by the World War II-era fascist Ustaša regime, and of tolerating the symbols and the activities of individuals sympathetic to that regime. This has led to criticism of Croatia, particularly among Serbs. This was exacerbated with war-time propaganda for the Yugoslav wars. The antagonism between the Croats and the Serbs grew, and had become widespread by the time the Croatian War of Independence had started. The Croatian-Serbian animosity during the Yugoslav wars was viewed by some as a rivalry between the "Ustaša" and the "Chetnik", even if both of these World War II-era organizations did not actually exist at the time. To some extent, it is a consequence of wartime propaganda, in the course of which such moralistic debasement is common.

Members of the Croatian Defence Forces, the paramilitary arm of the Croatian Party of Rights

In the absence of a specific policy or laws against it, instances of pro-Ustaše sentiment and hate speech were rarely sanctioned, to the dismay of the left-leaning public, as well the Serbs of Croatia who were the most common targets.

Among the organizations formed during wartime which were most commonly associated with neo-Ustashism was the Croatian Defence Forces (Hrvatske obrambene snage, HOS), which emerged as the de facto paramilitary wing of the Croatian Party of Rights. Their symbols included dressing in black, at the time widely perceived to be reminiscent of blackshirts, and using the phrase Za dom spremni. These units, however, quickly fell out of favor with the Croatian authorities and were eliminated through more or less violent means before the end of the first phase of the war in Croatia. In recent years the HOS has gained popularity, their members making appearances during state war commemorations.

The far-right part of the Croatian political scene in the 1990s was fragmented between various right-wing political parties: primarily Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), as well as other smaller parties such as the Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HKDU), the Croatian Party of Rights 1861 (HSP 1861) and Croatian Pure Party of Rights (HČSP).

Defacement of monuments

From 1991 until 2010, 3000 monuments erected in honour of the Partisans have been damaged or destroyed throughout the country, and these incidents were generally not censured by the authorities at all. Furthermore, the devastation of World War II partisan monuments also often extended to those erected in honor of civilian victims of war, also with little or no intervention from the police. The defacements occurred during a period when communist parties lost power in much of Eastern Europe.

Political parties

Active

The coalition led by the Homeland Movement came third at the 2020 parliamentary election, winning 10.89% of the vote and 16 seats. The abortion debate was one of the leading topics during political debates, while the Homeland Movement advocated a ban on abortion.

Defunct

  • The Croatian Democratic Party of Rights (HDSP), extreme-right or neo-fascist, founded by Krešimir Pavelić that was active during the 1990s.
  • The National Democratic League (NDL), extreme-right or neo-fascist, led by Ivan Vekić.
  • Croatian Block (HB), extreme-right and militant, founded in 2004 and disbanded in 2009.

Post-war political scene

WWII genocide denial

Main article: Denial of the genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia See also: Holocaust denial

In recent times, mainstream Croatian politicians, such as Stjepan Mesić, brought more focus to anti-fascist stances and veterans groups. Remembrance ceremonies at the site of Jasenovac concentration camp resumed, with support from the highest levels of government, including the right-wing HDZ under Ivo Sanader.

The World War II war crimes committed by the Ustaše had been processed in Yugoslavia, but some cases had protracted long enough to become the responsibility of the modern-day Croatian authorities. In 1999, Croatia extradited Dinko Šakić from Argentina, one of the commanders of the Jasenovac concentration camp, and he was subsequently tried and sentenced to 20 years in prison, at the time the highest penalty under Croatian law.

The conservative parties such as the Croatian Party of Rights (HSP) and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) permeated in their support for extreme forms of nationalism and far-right ideas. This has been particularly apparent in the latter, which has a large membership and voter base and appeals to a broad spectrum of right-wing voters.

The two-time prime minister Ivo Sanader of HDZ came to power after promoting himself as an avid advocate of Croatian general Mirko Norac in 2001. The far-right position with regard to war crimes committed in the Croatian war of independence has been one of a general denial - the Croatian side is seen as inherently not responsible for any crimes because its role in the war is one of a victim. This view is the extreme form of the position taken by the Supreme Court of Croatia, which allows "pursuit of a legitimate goal of defending one's country against an armed aggression" to be considered a mitigating circumstance in war crimes trials. In general, with respect to processing war crimes, the Croatian Government (mostly under HDZ) has had a rather spotty record for processing those committed by Croats. Pressure from the European Union helped rectify this. After Sanader and HDZ were elected in 2003, Norac was prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Croatia has also been cooperating with the ICTY in the legal prosecution of all persons accused of war crimes, which has included Croatian officers, notably Ante Gotovina, who was acquitted of all charges by the ICTY on 16 November 2012.

Parties like the Croatian Party of Rights which are most commonly associated with Ustašism generally aren't able to attract support from more than a few percent of the population (HSP coalition won 6.4% of the national popular vote in the 2003 election and 3.5% in the 2007 election). In recent times, the HSP's image of "pro-Ustaša" was repetitively shunned by its leaders in an attempt to sway more votes. The Croatian Pure Party of Rights openly praises the Ustaše regime, though the party does not meet the minimum number of votes needed to enter Parliament.

On 11 July 2003 the Ivica Račan coalition government passed amendments to the penal code which outlawed hate speech, in a new section titled Praising fascist, Nazi and other totalitarian states and ideologies or promotion of racism and xenophobia. The law is not perfectly applied, evidenced by the examples of regular public display of Ustasha memorabilia by the group "Hrvatski domobran" from Zadar that only recently started to get sanctioned by the police.

On 20 June 2006 Croatian prime minister Ivo Sanader issued a message ahead of the Anti-Fascist Struggle Day (an official holiday in Croatia), in which he rejected extremism and radicalism, and said that "antifascism was a commitment weaved into the foundations of independent, democratic Croatia".

Croatia has no laws against historical revisionism or Holocaust denial. This can be attributed to the change of political system, and the change in the entire system of values as the country became independent. Revisionism was not frowned upon because priority was placed on the re-evaluation of history as recorded during the Communist era, which was therefore deemed almost implicitly tainted, because it systematically omitted or misrepresented issues related to what was perceived to be Croatian nationalism. On the other hand, the revision of history books often went too far in making them increasingly focused on Croatian national issues, even with far-right interpretations of various World War II events. The re-examination of the number of victims of the Independent State of Croatia, particularly the Jasenovac concentration camp and Genocide of Serbs, was fairly common, as well as fairly controversial. Statistical research such as that by Vladimir Žerjavić indicated serious flaws with Yugoslav data, whose sources had been kept secret until 1989.

Croatia's far-right often advocates the false theory that Jasenovac was a "labour camp" where mass murder did not take place. Among them is the far-right NGO "The Society for Research of the Threefold Jasenovac Camp" which also claims that the camp was used by the Yugoslav authorities following the war to imprison Ustasha members and regular Home Guard army troops until 1948, then alleged Stalinists until 1951. Members of the organization includes public figures such as journalist Igor Vukić, Catholic priest Stjepan Razum and academic Josip Pečarić. The ideas promoted by its members have been amplified by mainstream media interviews and book tours. Vukić's book "The Jasenovac Lie Revealed" prompted the Simon Wiesenthal Center to urge Croatian authorities to ban such works, noting that they "would immediately be banned in Germany and Austria and rightfully so". Croatian filmmaker Jakov Sedlar also peddled this theory in his documentary Jasenovac – The Truth, bringing accusations of holocaust and genocide denial from organisations representing the ethnic groups that were the primary victims of the camp.

In November 2016 in Jasenovac, a plaque with the slogan "Za dom spremni" was unveiled.

Graffiti

Far-right extremist graffiti in Croatia often targets ethnic Serbs, Roma and homosexuals.

Graffiti on a wall in Croatia, which says "We'll give everything, but won't give Bobetko!", as well as the logo of the Ustaše and the acronym for the Independent State of Croatia. (see text)

The conflation of modern and obsolete nationalist themes sometimes produces bizarre inconsistencies, as shown at picture on the right: at the time when the ICTY wanted Croatian general Janko Bobetko, the right-wing part of the public was adamant in its demands to prevent that, and some extremist painted graffiti saying so, together with neo-fascist symbols. At the same time, Bobetko was quite clearly not a neo-fascist himself, because his family was killed by the Ustaše, and he fought against them.

Names of squares and streets

A square in the central part of Zagreb had been named the "Square of the victims of fascism" (Trg žrtava fašizma) because during World War II, over sixteen thousand people had been deported via the square to concentration camps. In the early 1990s, this square was renamed to "Square of great Croats" (Trg hrvatskih velikana). This decision was later reverted in December 2000 during Milan Bandić's mayoralty of Zagreb.

In several Croatian cities, streets were renamed after Mile Budak, a prominent Ustaša ideologist, on the basis that he was otherwise a writer. The moves to hail Budak this way, were supported by 120 university professors, scholars, and other public figures. Conversely, the leftist newspaper Feral Tribune regularly satirized the Mile Budak streets, and its journalists explicitly criticized this trend.

The renaming of streets and squares after Budak (and other Ustaša-related people) has mostly been reversed by recent governments. In 2003, Ivo Sanader's government decided to finally deal with the issue which resulted in a decision to rename all the streets bearing Budak's name. In 2004, a plaque commemorating Budak's birth in the village of Sveti Rok was removed by the same authorities. Numerous local authorities however refused to follow up with the renames or delayed them.

On 6 October 2009, the Croatian extreme right-wing NGO, the Croatian Cultural Movement (HUP), publicly declared its intention to erect a monument in honour of former Ustaše leader Ante Pavelić in Zagreb adjacent to the capital's centre square. The Israeli director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center slammed the proposed monument as a falsification of history and an insult to the memory of the victims of the NDH. No such monument was actually erected.

Popular culture

Young boy wearing a shirt with a Black Legion, Ustaše Militia sign at the Thompson concert

In the world of popular culture, the pop/folk/rock singer Marko Perković (Thompson) caused a scandal when the media obtained a copy song Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara allegedly sung by him. Perković was reportedly not prosecuted for this due to uncertainty as to whether it was really he who sang the song. He has appeared on public television, and can still sometimes be seen on it, even though mainstream TV stations do tend to avoid him in order to avoid controversy. His concerts regularly attract the far-right crowd.

It has been widely alleged that he achieved such large attendances with the support of right-wing political organizations who helped rally people to the concerts. He has been banned from performing in Netherlands and other states that do not allow display of Nazi symbols and celebration of the Holocaust, although his group (Thompson) performed at SS Cyril and Methodius Roman Catholic church in Manhattan in November 2007, despite well-reported controversy and criticism from the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

Thompson himself has denied he has anything to do with Nazism numerous times, and called the campaign against him cheap propaganda, saying he was merely a proud Croatian.

Catholic clergy

A part of the Catholic clergy in Croatia openly praises the Ustaše regime and denies any wrongdoing from the side of Croats and Catholic Church. Praise for the regime is primarily expressed through commemorations for Ante Pavelić on 28 December, the date of his death. Catholic representatives do not attend Holocaust commemorations but they regularly attend Bleiburg commemorations.

Controversy was caused in June 2008 when Croatian military bishop Juraj Jezerinac sang a song named Bijeli golubovi by Marko Perković Thompson, the controversial singer mentioned above, during a sermon in a church in Vukovar. The song contained also the NDH motto "Za dom spremni".

Simon Wiesenthal Center director Efraim Zuroff complained to the Croatian president Stjepan Mesić about the funeral of Dinko Šakić, one of the leaders of the army of the Independent State of Croatia, who died in July 2008. At that funeral, Croatian Dominican priest pater Vjekoslav Lasić held a speech in which he said that "the court that indicted Dinko Šakić indicted Croatia and Croatians", and that "every Croat should be proud of Šakić's name".

Sports

Ultranationalist Croats have shouted the slogan "Kill the Serb" during some sporting events. According to some Croatian media, a group of youths chanted this during a concert by Marko Perković Thompson.

In January 2006, the Ustasha song "Jasenovac i Gradiška Stara" was played publicly during the interval of an international club volleyball match. Officials later attributed the incident to a single individual, and the police did not intervene.

During a friendly 2006 match between Croatia and Italy in Livorno, a group of some 200 Croatian fans arranged themselves into a "human swastika" formation, with many also performing Nazi salutes, allegedly in response to leftist Italian fans jeering at the Croatian national anthem and waving Yugoslav communist flags. UEFA penalized the Croatian Football Federation for the incident.

In 2007, Croatian football fans formed the letter U in a stadium during a match in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In October 2007, the Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija reported that NK Imotski's official clothing items featured Ustaša-related symbols (The letter U and the Independent State of Croatia-resembling coat of arms inside the letter. That was, in fact, the logo of the club's leading sponsor, the edile company gUj (meaning "Gojko Und Jure"). Some historians and critics claim the symbols display is an open praising of the Ustaše. The club's president, Nediljko Tolo, said: "As long as the sponsor finances our club, we will carry those symbols on our dresses". In early November 2007, the Croatian Second League Association announced that NK Imotski violated FIFA, Croatian Football Federation rules and laws of the Republic of Croatia. NK Imotski had to end a sponsorship deal with gUj until the company changes its logo. NK Imotski had to find new uniforms for the players and remove all gUj advertisements around the stadium.

In November 2007, it was reported that members of the Hajduk Split supporters' group, Torcida Split, were wearing black T-shirts featuring the words "Hajduk jugend" (alluding to Hitlerjugend) in Fraktur and an eagle atop Hajduk's logo (resembling a Nazi Party symbol). The T-shirts were also being sold on Torcida's website. Stipe Lekić, the secretary of Torcida said to reporters that "Torcida has always been leaning to the right", but rejecting accusations that the T-shirts have connections with Nazism. He said that he was wearing the T-shirt because he liked the symbols.

Also in November 2007, a swastika appeared on Osijek's Gradski vrt football field, together with the slogan "Play, fags!" That was, reportedly done before the match with Međimurje. NK Osijek's and their Kohorta fan association condemned the acts.

In June 2012, the Croatian and German football federations were fined for singing songs associated with Nazism and wearing Nazi symbols.

In November 2013, after the FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualification match between Croatia and Iceland, the Croatian defender of Australian descent, Josip Šimunić, reportedly celebrated and motivated the crowd with the Ustashe chant "Za dom, Spremni" upon Croatian qualification to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Simunic was disciplined by FIFA in December with a ten-match suspension and a fine of CHF 30,000.

Croatian Misplaced Pages

Main article: Croatian Misplaced Pages controversy

In September 2013, complaints about right-wing bias of administrators and editors on the Croatian Misplaced Pages arose. Those complaints were already present, but they began to receive media attention after the launch of a Facebook page titled "Razotkrivanje sramotne hr.wikipedije" (English: "Exposing the shameful Croatian Misplaced Pages") whose creators warned the media about the bias. Croatia's Minister of Science, Education and Sports, Željko Jovanović, called for pupils and students in Croatia to avoid using the Croatian Misplaced Pages. Snježana Koren, a historian at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, has judged the disputed articles as "biased and malicious, partly even illiterate". She further added that "These are the types of articles you can find on the pages of fringe organizations and movements, but there should be no place for that on Misplaced Pages", expressing doubts on the ability of its authors to distinguish good from evil. Koren concludes that the ulterior motive of such writings is to rehabilitate the Independent State of Croatia, a Nazi Germany puppet state, and that "there is no other way to characterize such efforts than as Ustashe movement".

See also

References

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